Ercall Wood Technology College’s Year 8 students are working with architect, Alison Davies, on design options for a spiritual space in their school grounds. The aim is to provide a space to celebrate the cultural diversity and history of the school, for use by the whole school community.
As part of their research, students from Telford have been exploring sacred spaces across Birmingham, the region’s capital, with the support of MADE, an architecture centre in the West Midlands.
Students explore catacombs © Ercall Wood College
Reflective space
Last year, through Find Your Talent funding, the students worked with creative practitioners to transform a neglected outdoor space into a learning environment. Whilst developing the design brief for this area the young people identified their need for a quiet, calm space within the busy school environment. The school therefore applied to for an education grant and the judges awarded the project commenting;
‘This project’s basis in Religious Education was interesting for its originality. We liked the fact that it replied to students’ opinions about their current school building and thought that it presented an engaging way of approaching a sensitive topic.’
The chosen site for the spiritual space is an unused Second World War memorial garden in the school grounds. In classroom sessions at the start of this term, the students measured and produced a scale drawing of the memorial garden, identified and took photos of site constraints, and looked at emotional responses to design.
Students at Peace Gardens, Birmingham © Ercall Wood College
Sacred Space
As part of their support for this project, MADE organised a tour of spaces in Birmingham designed for contemplation and reflection. At the peace garden in memory of teenagers Charlene Ellis and Letisha Shakespeare, the students discovered how a design can grabs people’s attention from their surroundings by using focal points, like decorative surfacing.
At St Thomas Peace Garden, the students saw how a site can develop over time and make good use of relic features. The partly-destroyed Victorian church provides a memorial to the Second World War, while the recent colonnade reflects Birmingham’s international connections.
Students investigate mosaic tiles © Ercall Wood College
The students want a space that ‘isn’t like school’ and the architect is helping them think through the use of transition spaces, like tunnels or bridges or as one student suggested, a ‘labyrinth’. Everyone pointed to the use of flowing water as a calming influence and there is strong support for natural elements, wildlife and colour. The next steps are for the students to firm up design options, then work with a quantity surveyor on outline costs to transform the current shaded, waterlogged and disused space into a new ‘spiritual space’.
More ideas on curriculum exploration through buildings and places in the West Midlands
Making Sense of Places
Develop skills in observing, recording, documenting and presenting the built and natural environment around them.
Urban Explorers Resource Packs
Website with mapped walks through Rugby, Dudley, Market Drayton, Ladywood and Tamworth, highlighting points of architectural and community interest.
